After the Woods by Kim Savage - ADVISABLE

Savage, Kim After the Woods, 304 pages.  Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2016.  $18.  Language: PG-13 (20 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (implied sex, kidnapped by a rapist, private mentions); Violence: PG (stabbing).

When Julia’s best friend Liv was almost kidnapped in the woods, Julia threw herself in the way and she was kidnapped instead.  She managed to escape after a harrowing experience, but everything really hasn’t been the same since.  It’s been almost a year since that day and the press is gathering again; Julia is seeing a shrink hoping to unlock her repressed memories; and Liv has become less of a friend and more of a stranger.  What happened that day in the woods and why did it happen in the first place?  Without those answers, Julia just can’t move on with her life.

Very creepy stuff here.  Savage drops hints along the way, but allows the reader to enjoy the mysteries until the very end.  Nothing is wrapped up in a neat little bow or stuffed into simple pigeonholes - not Julia’s relationship with one of the BMOC’s or Liz’s relationship with her mother - not even the friendship between the two besties.  A great read for older reluctant readers.

HS - ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher